The U.S. Department of Agriculture said more than 2 million pounds of chicken is being recalled by its Arkansas-based processor because the poultry "may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically metal."
The agency's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Wednesday that Simmons Prepared Foods Inc., based in Gentry, Ark., was recalling several ready-to-cook chicken products.
The products include whole chickens, chicken legs and wings.
The chicken was shipped "to institutions in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania," the company said.
Institutions may include restaurants, schools, hospitals and distributors. The recall, however, does not include chicken sold in stores.
The recall notice said Simmons officials had concerns that "some product may be frozen and in institutional freezers" and advised institutions to not serve the products.
The chicken was produced between Oct. 21 and Nov. 4, the Simmons said.
"Food safety is a very serious matter at Simmons," the company said in its Wednesday statement. "That is why Simmons has issued a precautionary and voluntary recall of approximately 2 million pounds of fresh and frozen chicken products.
"We are working closely with regulatory authorities and affected customers to expedite this product recall."
The USDA posted labels of the affected chicken products at www.fsis.usda.gov.
The recall was classified as "Class I" by the federal agency, designating it as a "health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death."
Simmons said the company discovered the issue through standard food-safety and quality checks and that "no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of the products" had been received.
According to the USDA, anyone concerned about "an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider" — and consumers may call Simmons at (888) 831-7007 for more information.
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